Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Stabbing High School Cheerleader, Wrestler to Death

An 18-year-old California man has been charged with stabbing to death a 17-year-old girl Friday night.

Angelina Gonzales was a student at Azusa High School, where she was a cheerleader, wrestler, and artist whose work had been displayed at the US Capitol, KABC reported.

The suspect was taken into custody on Friday but not identified until Tuesday, when authorities said he was Daniel Rodriguez, who was the victim’s ex-boyfriend, according to her family, who said she was found at Rodriguez’s house and taken to a hospital, where she died.

The family said that Rodriguez picked Gonzales up from a cheerleading banquet and took her to his house. A family member tracked her cell phone location.

“When I got there, there was already crime scene tape up and forensics and all kinds of stuff. And I ran up to the officers like, hey, my daughter’s in there. You know, my daughter is in there I’m trying to find her. She’s not home. And that’s when they told me, sit aside for a minute,” said Robert Caraballo, Gonzales’s stepfather.

They told Eyewitness News the suspect picked her up from a cheerleading banquet and brought her back to his house. A family member then tracked her cell phone location.

Rodriguez is charged with murder with a special allegation of using a knife, KTLA said. He is being held on a $2.02 million bail.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.

[Featured image: Angelina Gonzales/GoFundMe]